In a year which saw the Eastern Mennonite cross country women surge to prominence on the course, they have also vaulted to recognition in the classroom. The Lady Royals finished the 2012 semester with the highest cumulative team GPA in the nation at 3.76.
EMU was named as an All-Academic Team by the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA). Pomona-Pitzer of California had the second-highest team GPA at 3.71.
To qualify as a USTFCCCA All-Academic Cross Country Team, the team must have had a cumulative team GPA of 3.10 or better. A total of 197 institutions represent 39 conferences that compose the group. The MIAC had the most squads on the list with 11, followed by the NESCAC, Centennial Conference, and Middle Atlantic Conference which followed with 10.
Other Old Dominion Athletic Conference schools given All-Academic status were: Bridgewater, Guilford, Roanoke, Shenandoah, Virginia Wesleyan and Washington and Lee.
Eastern Mennonite’s young team was ranked as high as No. 5 in the South/Southeast Regional rankings this fall.